The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 325 Too Slow

This familiar interaction made Joyner raise an eyebrow slightly; she could sense that Eric and Hope had a good relationship.

"So you two still have this kind of relationship."

Hope laughed and said, "Joyna, don't let his rookie appearance fool you, he has a lot of potential. Your team has struck gold."

“Really?” Joyna looked at Eric and asked in surprise.

Eric gave a helpless smile; he finally understood.

Why did Costa and Peña, two detectives he had never met before, look at him with such scrutiny when they first met?

So it was Hope who recommended him.

That's understandable, as the Bloodscab case was also handled by Costa's fourth squadron.

He hadn't thought that much about it at first, after all, the forensic department handled quite a few cases.

"So, what's your relationship with the captain?" Eric asked.

Hope didn't answer the question, but simply waved his hand and turned to leave: "We can talk about this later. You're here to follow up on the physical evidence. Come with me, we've made a new discovery."

Eric looked at Joyna.

The next second, Joyna gave her answer. As she quickly caught up with Hope, she whispered to Eric:

"He is Costa's brother-in-law."

Eric paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and looked at the figure walking quickly ahead.

This guy has been hiding his true intentions well.

Hope walked quickly ahead, leading the two through an area filled with various sophisticated instruments to a relatively quiet analysis table. On the table were several familiar evidence bags, containing the two crucial broken wooden handles.

“You already know that the DNA of the semen stains didn’t match in the database. Also, those disinfectant ingredients are actually quite common and difficult to trace,” Hope said, standing in front of the analysis table and putting on white gloves.

Joyna nodded: "So your new discovery is?"

Eric glanced at the broken wooden handle.

“This is the only murder weapon.” Hope carefully pointed with tweezers to a barely noticeable dent near the broken part of the wooden handle.

"We discovered a partially worn-out mark here through microscopic techniques and multi-band light source detection."

After digital modeling and image reconstruction, it can be confirmed that it is the abbreviation of 'SCG'. Below it is a line of smaller, more blurred text, which is speculated to be Supplies.

“SCG Supplies?” Joyner quickly searched her memory.

Eric, however, narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking of the information he had found last night.

Hope called out, "Helmod."

“We’ve checked,” Hope’s student, Helmod, handed over a document at the opportune moment.

"SCG is an abbreviation for St. Grace Charitable Association, a non-profit organization that covers multiple cities in the state and operates many discount stores and thrift centers, with the proceeds going to charity."

SCG Supplies is an internal department responsible for the centralized procurement, warehousing, and distribution of supplies; it does not operate externally.

Eric's mind just flashed through this information, and his brows furrowed slightly. Now there was no need to go to the Methodist church for on-site investigation.

Based on the information provided by Helmod, he was able to determine that the two wooden poles belonged to the same broom, and that it was the same broom used by the victim.

The fact that the name of the Holy Grace Charity Federation, with its strong religious background, closely matches the profile makes the clues exceptionally clear.

"And is this guy committing a crime for the first time?"

Just as Eric's thoughts settled, Hope had already provided the answer:
"I suspect the murder weapon was the wooden handle of a broom."

As he spoke, he picked up the evidence bag and carefully pieced it together, the wood grain at the broken point fitting perfectly with the overall outline.

"Judging from the shape and diameter of the fracture, as well as the 3D structural reconstruction we just completed, these two wooden handles are 100% derived from the same standard long-handled broom."

As Hope spoke, she used her fingers to virtually trace the shape of the broom through the evidence bag: "Look here, this is where the brush head is attached, and here is where the hand holds it. The murderer only used its strongest and most wieldy part."

Joyna took a deep breath, her eyes shining with excitement: "This discovery is so important, Hope! I now suspect that this broom might be the same one the victim used!"

She looked at Eric, as if wanting to compare their thoughts.

Eric nodded.

Upon seeing this, Hope took a newly printed document from her student Helmod.

"If you want to investigate the Shengen Charity Federation, our technical analysis can provide you with full support. The branding matching and the 3D structural reconstruction report of the wooden handle all point to the murder weapon being a broom from their ranks."

With this evidence, we can directly request the internal records from the Sheng'en Charity Federation in accordance with the law.

Without further doubt, Joyna decisively took out her phone: "I'll tell Peña to retrieve the internal procurement and distribution records of the Holy Grace Charity Federation."

As she spoke, Joyna began dialing: "If we can trace the exact whereabouts of the brooms, this case will make much greater progress."

After saying that, Joyna answered the phone, "Penia, it's me! The forensic department has made a major breakthrough. The murder weapon has been confirmed as a broom handle, and the supplier has been identified through a specific branding mark: the Saint Grace Charity Association."

-

When the two of them left the forensic department and returned to their office, Penia had already obtained the internal procurement and distribution records of the Holy Grace Charity Federation.

“You’re back just in time; they just sent over the records.” Peña stared intently at the screen without looking up, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she pulled up the lengthy spreadsheet.

"But the amount of data is huge, so we need to first filter out the flow of that specific batch."

Eric was still relatively calm, but Joyna instantly got into the swing of things, heading straight to her workstation as if she was about to jump into battle and get to work.

“Okay!” she replied enthusiastically.

Eric also sat back down at his workstation, his gaze falling on the data that Peña had distributed. His lips twitched involuntarily as he suddenly noticed a blind spot.

Wait, so the broom on the victim was confirmed to have come from a Methodist church, and then what?
A church broom might be kept in a storage room, leaning against a corner of a corridor, or it might be taken away by any believer, visitor, or even a homeless person who sneaks in.

It's so ordinary that it lacks any exclusivity.

Eric unconsciously rubbed his temples.

He seemed to understand why the police station's crime-solving rate was so low.

The restrictions are too great; every step must be legal, otherwise all previous efforts will be in vain.

The United States does have search warrants and arrest warrants, and both require application to a judge.

In other words, based on these conditions alone, it would be impossible to successfully apply for a search warrant, and naturally, it would be impossible to apply for the final arrest warrant.

Therefore, it is naturally impossible to extend this to the prime suspect in the profiling.

Burroughs Thorne.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The three of them worked together to conduct cross-comparisons.

Peña controlled the data filtering, Joyna checked the receiving unit name and date, and Eric stared at the batch number.

The results came back quickly. As Eric had predicted, the broom on the victim's body came from a Methodist church.

"The results are in," Joyna said.

“The brooms produced in this particular batch, bearing this mark, have only been distributed to three affiliated religious sites, including the Methodist Church, in the past four months.”

Eric picked up the coffee he had bought that morning from the table, took a sip, and shook his head inwardly.

What is he doing right now?

“Methodox Church.” Peña looked up and exchanged a glance with Joyna.

The Methodist church happened to be connected to the victims.

Peña asked, "The other two? Can we rule them out?"

"Checking." Joyna pulled up detailed records and geographical location information for the two churches besides the Methodist Church.

"One of the companies is located in River Valley County, more than 200 kilometers away from the city. Logistics records show that there is no reverse flow of goods."

"Another one." Joyna's tone became excited.

“We experienced a burglary at the end of last month, but only electronic devices were stolen. Cleaning tools were not listed on the stolen goods list. However, the local police report is completely different from our case. The burglars targeted cash and easily resold items, so we can rule out any connection.”

Hearing this, Eric, who had been silent all along, was speechless. In America, some people's thinking is indeed bizarre. Stealing things from religious sites?
Peña looked up, her gaze sweeping over Joyna and Eric: "All things considered, only the Methodist church meets all the conditions of both the source of the murder weapon and geographical proximity."

Joyna asserted, "That's the source!"

Eric calmly put down his coffee cup. He was still thinking about how to combine all the real-world data to apply to that guy, Burroughs Thorne, and then how to successfully capture him.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Costa and White, who had been outside on fieldwork, walked in.

"Is there any progress?"

Costa noticed the lingering expressions on Peña and Joyna's faces and strode over. He and White also knew about the broom.

"The flow of the virus has been traced, cross-referencing has confirmed it, the murder weapon is a broom, and the source has been traced back to the Methodist Church. Other possibilities have been ruled out," Penia said.

"Great! We've pinpointed the source!" White exclaimed excitedly.

"Boss, what are we waiting for? Let's apply for a search warrant and turn that church upside down!"

However, as he spoke, he noticed that Costa frowned, and Peña and Joyna suddenly calmed down, and then he understood what was going on.

“Calm down!” Costa said. “The fact that the murder weapon came from a church is not enough.”

White's excitement vanished instantly, and he clicked his tongue impatiently.

"What should we do then? The grocery store owner I'm keeping an eye on, who had frequent contact with the victim, simply didn't have the opportunity to commit the crime."

The store's surveillance cameras captured everything clearly. He was in the store taking inventory on the night of the incident, and indeed every day thereafter; he never left. At least three customers can testify to this.

Costa ignored White, but glanced at Eric, who had remained calm throughout, and said:

"We'll have a meeting in ten minutes to reorganize."

-

meeting room.

Eric remained seated in the corner, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the side of his coffee cup.

He already had some ideas.

He had witnessed Costa's decisive and efficient style, and he was familiar with the team members and routine procedures.

If they follow the normal procedure, they will eventually trace it back to Burroughs Thorne.

But for him, going through all the procedures step by step was too slow.

We can't just follow the team's pace. We need to identify the suspect, and then, based on DNA, keep an eye on the suspect and try to find his biological data.
We still have to take the initiative and try some unconventional methods.

With the DNA in hand, what are we waiting for? Let's go straight for the heart of the enemy.

Having confirmed his idea, Eric looked up.

Costa stood in front of the whiteboard, picked up a marker, wrote "Methodist Church" heavily on the right side, and then drew a circle around it.

"We can abandon the line with the victim's relatives. The verification results are clear: they have never left their hometown, their daily whereabouts are fixed, there is complete surveillance and witness chain support, and they have no time to commit the crime."

After explaining the results of his assigned tasks, Costa turned around and glanced at everyone present.

"The current situation is clear: the source of the murder weapon has been identified. Now, we should concentrate all our energy and resources on the Methodist Church."

Penia, the internal structure of the church.

Peña responded, "The permanent staff is relatively simple."

The resident priest, Draco Hayes, is sixty-two years old.

Assistant Deacon, Burroughs Thorne, thirty-five years old.

In addition, there are four volunteer administrators working in shifts, responsible for daily cleaning and facility maintenance. They are all long-time residents of the community with relatively clear backgrounds.

Costa asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Joyna said, "I recommend a thorough background check on everyone on the list who has access to cleaning tools, and a large-scale survey of churchgoers and the surrounding community to look for any clues about unusual behavior, especially unusual interest in cleaning work."

White couldn't help but click his tongue: "How long is this going to take? By the time we finish asking, that bastard might already be gone!"

Peña seemed to remember something, glanced at Eric, and said, "Eric's earlier suggestion was correct; the killer's professional background might be in the medical field or a professional cleaner. This can help us significantly narrow down the scope of our investigation."

Peña's words brought everyone's attention back to Eric.

Costa looked at Eric, a thought flashing through his mind, his eyes asking, "Eric, tell me your thoughts."

Noticing everyone's gaze, Eric said, "Captain, we've confirmed that the murder weapon was a broom, and it came from the church."

Residues of professional disinfectant were also found at the scene, indicating that the perpetrator was quite skilled at cleaning up biological evidence.

Eric paused to make sure everyone was following his train of thought.

"So, a very direct question is, in the context of a church, what kind of people can reasonably, frequently, and without suspicion come into contact with cleaning tools such as brooms?"

And do they also happen to possess the knowledge to use professional disinfectants and know how to thoroughly clean the site?

Joyner's eyes lit up immediately; she instantly grasped the core idea: "Intersection! This is exactly the intersection we're looking for! Someone who can frequently use the tools and also has the relevant knowledge!"
Only those who are permanently stationed at the church fit this description best!

Costa looked at Peña, whose fingers were already flying across the tablet.

"The four volunteer administrators on the list are ordinary residents with no relevant background."

Old Pastor Hayes didn't wait any longer, he found it!

Peña suddenly raised her head and said:
"Burles Thorne, 35 years old, assistant deacon, whose public resume shows that he worked as a nursing assistant at the municipal hospital for two years before entering the seminary!"

(End of this chapter)